Here are 54 books that Rhymer fans have personally recommended if you like
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I received a classical education steeped in myth and folklore, and consequently I’m drawn to those stories that show how magic inhabits the liminal spaces of our world. My favorite books transport me to a different historical place or time, make it feel effortlessly lived in, and then explore what lies beneath the surface. I’ve now written two novels set in our world (900s Scandinavia and 17th century Venice), but with a twist, and I hope to write many more. After all, the wonderful thing about myths is that they contain deeper truths that connect us all. They bring us together, which is its own kind of magic.
I picked this up as an adult thinking it was straight historical fiction. After all, we meet the imprisoned Princess Elizabeth of England in the first chapter. However, when the main character is relocated to a remote castle and discovers the underground world of the fairy folk, the story takes a delightful turn into the realm of myth and legend. It pays homage to the Scottish myth of Tam Lin, the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer, and several Arthurian legends, while remaining firmly grounded in Elizabethan England. The added twist of the fairy realm was so deftly accomplished that I finished the book thinking that perhaps, if I lived in Elizabethan England, I too might have stumbled upon the land of the Fairy Folk.
In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids’ and include human sacrifice.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Ever since I was little, I’ve been fascinated with various historical societies, but particularly that of medieval Europe. The ebb and flow of political strife as well as the gradual creeping advancement of technology in an era too-often deemed “the Dark Ages” sparked a passion in me that led me to pursue a degree in history. Prior to my studies, I had the opportunity to travel to Norway, where my love for the medieval era was ignited as my family toured the dipping green fjords and walked the burial mounds of kings long past. I aim now to tell their stories.
Kristen Britain’s Green Rider is an adventure that takes place in a carefully crafted medieval world.
What’s notable is the way Britain integrates medieval culture and tradition into the story. From the honor code of the Green Riders to the standard of loyalty and virtue, the novel is steeped in values commonly held in the medieval era. This adds authenticity to the story.
The series also introduces ‘fantasy flair’ in the Eletians, a group of people I could closely associate with the Elves in my own book.
It's a race against time to save her country, but it could cost her life . . .
Karigan G'ladheon always seemed to be getting into a fight, and today was no exception.
But as she trudged through the forest, using her long walk home to contemplate her depressing future - and the expulsion it was bound to hold - a horse burst through the woodland and charged straight for her. The rider was slumped over his mount's neck with two arrows embedded in his back. Wherever his horse was taking him, he would be dead before they got there.…
I have always been intrigued by fantastical world-building that is complex, detailed, forensically credible, and immeasurably encyclopedic in scope. It should propel you to a world that feels almost as real as the world you leave behind but with intricate magic systems and razor-shape lore. Ironically, some of my choices took a while to love, but once they “sunk in,” everything changed. Whenever life gets too much, it has been cathartic, essential even, to transport to another universe and find solace in prose dedicated to survival, soul, and renewal.
This book, again by JRR Tolkien, was published in 1977, actually four years after its author’s death. It deals with Middle Earth long before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, both set in the Third Age.
It concerns a foe, Melkor, who is infinitely more powerful than Sauron, the adversary in the later books. Tolkien himself summarises it better than anyone: "The Silmarillion is the history of the War of the Exiled Elves against the Enemy. Several tales of victory and tragedy are caught up in it; but it ends with catastrophe, and the passing of the Ancient World, the world of the long First Age." Tolkien’s son Christopher had to finish something that was not fully complete.
For some, it might be an effort to keep up with the intricate cultural and in-depth world building than anything we see in the Third Age, yet again the…
The forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion fills in the background which lies behind the more popular work, and gives the earlier history of Middle-earth, introducing some of the key characters.
The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.
Included on the recording are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons. I’m always on the hunt for not just good but great stories. One of the most profound things I have done revolving around fantasy writing was walk the same streets as the legends walked. Oxford, UK is a magical location and the place where Narnia and The Hobbits were born. I visited CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien gravesites. I visited their homes where they wrote their works. Adventure is around every corner in life. If we choose it. Here is a dwarven proverb from my book series, “May your light shine bright and blind your enemies.”
This was a personal gem for me. JD Fisher’s brother passed away and he championed his brother’s story and wrote the book in honor of him. Wow.
This gutted me but as I read this story I was overtaken by the similarities of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. You can tell he was inspired by these giants. I consider Mr. Fisher a storyteller champion and highly recommend his series.
"No one can be a slave of two swords. They will server one and hate the other."In a fallen world where two supernatural swords of power are destined to determine the fates of all, two brave elves find themselves caught up in a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy that will restore and save the lives of many. When it's discovered that the elves possess one of these special swords, they are pursued by malevolent forces with lethal intent. Join the journey in a world alive with magic, dangerous creatures, and an epic struggle between good and evil.
While I love a good romance, I was disappointed to discover how few novels are written about friendship. In so many books, friends take a backseat to the love interest, or to the plot; it’s hard, outside of fiction aimed at children, to find stories that treat friendship as pivotal to a character’s life as friendship usually is in normal life. I love stories that show us what that kind of friendship looks like, and how it can matter… which is why I write them.
Harrier, son of a harbormaster, and Tiercel, nobleman’s son, make for exactly the kind of friendship you often see in real life, where one of the pair’s a dreamer and the other a pragmatist, and they need one another for balance. Their friendship remains central to all three books of this series, keeping them sane as they take on an impossible world-saving task.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory teamed up to write The Obsidian Trilogy, set in a wondrous world filled with magical beings, competing magic systems, and a titanic struggle between good and evil.
That world proved so popular with the creators and readers alike that Lackey and Mallory have returned to it with The Phoenix Unchained, Book One of The Enduring Flame, the opening volume of a new epic fantasy trilogy. After a thousand years of peace, much Magick has faded from the world. The Elves live far from humankind. There are no…
I’ve been writing fantasy for two decades now and still, I can’t resist a foul-mouthed rogue with a grubby soul. They’re usually the most entertaining characters to write and in the long days of plugging away at a book, they’re often the ones that remind you what’s so fun about the job. When I started Stranger of Tempest it was (pretty much solely) with that in mind – I wanted a disparate band of crazed, badass idiots to go on an adventure with and see where it took me. Of course, as I got to know them I found there was more to their tales than that, but it was fun right to the end!
The Raven is your classic band of mercs, a found-family of warriors caught up in world-ending levels of chaos. This is much more 90s style fantasy and unashamedly so – serious, sword-swinging, spell-casting stuff. As a result, you have to buy into that a bit given how the genre has changed, but at the same time, the series is all about the consequences of actions rather than any pretence about happily ever after so there’s real meat to it.
ELITE, UNSTOPPABLE ... AND HIRED TO DO THE UNTHINKABLE
The Raven are an elite. Formed of six men and an elf, they're swords for hire in the wars that have torn their land apart. For years their only loyalty has been to themselves, and to their code.
But that time is coming to an end. The Wytch Lords have escaped and The Raven find themselves fighting for the Dark College of magic, on a mission which soon becomes a race for the secret location of Dawnthief. It's a spell - one created to end the…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I adore heroes and stories that inspire me to live a life of virtue. As a child, I would stay up late reading about noble nights and the sins of evil. I believe every person is endowed with a yearning for all that is Good, True, and Beautiful. In a time when the zeitgeist is muddled with grimdark determinism, I’ve noticed wounds and cries for a life of virtue. Stories can inspire the good in us; thus, I am passionate about tales that fan flames of light in the hearts of their readers.
This book is a treasure that ignited and brought attention to the fantasy genre. There is a certain style to Terry Brooks, and yes it is similar to Tolkien, but it's refreshing, because (like Tolkien), this story focuses on wonder, miracles, and making the moral choice.
This tale is not about who wields the magic but about the effect it has when used by good or evil people. In an “ever-grey” world, it is a boon to remember that some choices are black and white.
***50 MILLION TERRY BROOKS COPIES SOLD AROUND THE WORLD***
THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES IS NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES
Volume one in the classic bestselling series - from one of the all-time masters of fantasy
'Terry's place is at the head of the fantasy world' Philip Pullman
Long ago, the world of the Four Lands was torn apart by the wars of ancient Evil. But in the Vale, the half-human, half-elfin Shea Ohmsford now lives in peace - until the mysterious, forbidding figure of the druid Allanon appears, to reveal that the supposedly long dead Warlock Lord lives again.
I am fascinated by how people communicate. I enjoy when different cultures clash and cooperate. Coming from another country and growing up in California exposed me to my first taste of different groups. Traveling around the country and the world has allowed me to see the vast variety of people and I continue to wonder how we can get along together.
Rie is a kickass heroine who must survive in a world where humans like her don’t fit in and are not respected. The story mixes creatures of different types, high elves, dark elves, pixies, goblins, imps, and more. Handles the problem of an inferior trying to deal with more powerful friends and enemies. Great story.
Rie is only human. The high elves have made that very clear. Even training as an elite fighter isn’t enough to earn the respect she craves. Her only allies are the fierce carnivorous pixies who travel by her side, yet still she clings to the hope of one day earning her place in the Upper Realm.
When she's attacked by assassins from the enemy Shadow Realm, Rie's martial prowess keeps her alive...and frames her as a traitor. Facing execution at the hand of a merciless king, Rie must forsake her oaths and flee…
I’ve been more than lucky to live a life of adventure from the start. My family did things a little unusually – we lived on a boat, we bought a ranch, we trained (and I still train) horses, we traveled, and through it all, we read. My entire adventuring family always had books, even on that boat when we have very little space. We would all go to the main cabin at night and either escape to a new world in novel or, in my case quite often, a note book. I’ll be forever grateful for these experiences because it was adventure shaped who I am as an author and reader.
I won’t lie, I am an audiobook fan because I can listen to them as I work. The story in The Spirit of Things, combined with the excellence of Nigel Peever as a narrator, is seriously fantastic! A Human boy raised among elves wants to find his way to finally being accepted. After having a vision, Fulco realizes what just might be his answer – he needs to find a way to possess magic.
A land in peril, a traitorous goddess, a human outcast living among the elves. Will he learn to harness his mysterious powers before it is too late?
By the age of seventeen rotations, Fulco has had a tough time growing up in a forest village. Abandoned as a baby and raised by a loving elven family, he is despised by the village elves as humans are deemed a plague upon the land.
Hoping to gain their approval through sportsmanship, Fulco dreams of winning a position on the elven Portare team. An epic sport where players must ride upon a beast,…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I write
action-packed post-apocalyptic and dystopian adventures—with a dash of romance.
An avid reader of science fiction and fantasy from an early age, the only job I
ever wanted—besides being a writer—was to be a Star Fleet Officer. I owe my
love of all things zombie to my older brothers, whose influence in books,
music, and film continues to this day, although my tolerance for puns and
movies that are "so bad they're good" is a whole lot lower than
theirs. The idea of becoming a zombie because my car runs out of gas gets me to
the gas station when I'd rather not bother.
Tinker is an inventive, imaginative, and fun fantasy story. The eponymous main character—a girl genius who works at a scrap yard—is unconventional and incredibly sympathetic; I rooted for her from the start. The intersection of magic, elves, parallel worlds, the setting of the disrupted, and dying on the vine rust-belt city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (my hometown—yay!) is exceptionally well done. This story is original from start to finish. Spencer's writing is crisp, engaging, and there’s no filler. Every word in this book moves the story forward. If you like fantasy, read Tinker (and the entire Elfhome series). Don’t be put off by (in my humble opinion) the incredibly terrible cover.
My copy—a dog eared and read several times over paperback—has a much better one. The pages in between are what counts, and the story is amazing!
Inventor, girl genius Tinker lives in a near-future Pittsburgh which now exists mostly in the land of the elves. She runs her salvage business, pays her taxes, and tries to keep the local ambient level of magic down with gadgets of her own design. When a
